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1001 PAINTINGS 22 TO 26

“022”

2005180 x 110 cm, oilprivate collection, Basel

In
ancient China, red was the symbol of fire and the south, and is one of
the main five classical colors.In Chinese symbolism, red is the color
of good luck and success, and is used for decoration and wedding attire
(during the traditional half of the wedding ceremony, while the bridal
attire in the modern half is usually white). Money in Chinese societies
is traditionally given in red packets. Stock market gains in China and
other East Asian countries are displayed in red, while losses are
displayed in green...

“023”

2005
200 x 200 cm, oil
private collection, New York

Although
Fendi produces a ready-to-wear sports line, the name is best known for
its dramatic fur collections, which have been designed by Karl
Lagerfeld since 1962. It has been the company’s relationship with
Lagerfeld that brought the Fendi name to the attention of the fashion
press. Lagerfeld was also responsible for designing the double-F griffe
that is almost as well recognized among the fashion cognoscenti as the
double-C and double-G symbols of Chanel and Gucci.
Lagerfeld’s
innovative treatment of fur was both witty and, at times, shocking and
has kept the Fendi company at the forefront of this field. In
Lagerfeld’s capable hands, real fur took on the appearance of fake fur;
having been perforated with thousands of tiny holes to make the coats
lighter to wear and printed to look like damask and other similar
fabrics. Denim coats have been lined with mink by Lagerfeld, who also
employed unorthodox animal skins such as squirrel and ferret in his
creations. More recently, Lagerfeld covered an entire fur coat with
woven mesh and created completely reversible fur coats as his stand
against the antifur movement, which created great problems for the
trade. Another design he produced for autumn-winter 1993-94 consisted
of a small zipped bag that unfolded into a calf-length fur coat.
In
Italy, fur sales have continued to constitute a major part of the
company’s business—where the Fendi sisters claim to have changed the
age-old tradition of fur as being a status symbol to being a covetable
high-fashion garment.

“024”

2004
170x 120 cm, oil
M-Ars Gallery, Vienna

Mexico´s
Green Revolution began in 1943 with the establishment of the Office of
Special Studies, which was a venture that was a collaboration between
the Rockefeller Foundation and the presidential administration of
Manuel Avila Camacho in Mexico. While Camacho’s predecessor Cárdenas
promoted peasant subsistence agriculture through policies of land
reform, Avila Camacho’s primary goal for Mexican agriculture was to aid
in the nation’s industrial development and economic growth. US Vice
President Henry Wallace, who was instrumental in convincing the
Rockefeller Foundation to work with the Mexican government in
agricultural development, saw Camacho’s ambitions as beneficial to U.S.
economic and military interests.
J. George Harrar, who would later
become president of the Rockefeller Foundation, headed the Office of
Special Studies. Its lead scientists included Norman Borlaug, Edwin
Wellhausen, and William Colwell. Researchers from both the United
States and Mexico were involved in this program. The main initiative of
the Office was the development of high-yielding maize and wheat
varieties. Borlaug received the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize for his work on
wheat breeding.
The Mexican national government invested heavily in
rural infrastructure development, and the adoption of new seed
varieties became widespread. Mexico became self-sufficient in wheat
production by 1951 and began to export wheat thereafter...

“025”

2004
120 x 180 cm, oil
work in progress

With
its roots in the subcultures of “Pachucoism” and the “Cholo” image, the
popular culture of lowriding has been present since the early 1950’s.
“Pachucos” refer to Mexican American youth in the 1940’s known for
wearing zoot suits with broad shoulders and baggy pants that were tied
at the ankle. They were referred to as “Zoot Suiters,” a term that came
to be associated with “hoodlum” by media sensationalism. Cholos were
the next generation of Mexican Americans with a distinctive way of
dressing, including neatly pressed baggy khakis wom with T-shirts.
These two subcultures are the results of a cultural hybridization of
the Mexican and American cultures...

“026”

2004
320 x 170cm, oil
Gallery Kroupa, Vienna

Not
only used as a means of transportation, lowriders have used their
vehicles to voice their opinions on several issues. Some themes are
religious: the Virgin of Guadalupe and roses symbolic of her, a
suffering Christ figure, and lowriders cruising beneath the
outstretched arms of the Virgin of Guadalupe (entitled “Cruising
Together”). Others are representative of pride in the Mestizo race: ‘La
Indita” (Mexican Indian girl). an Aztec princess, or an Aztec warrior
with an Indian maiden in his arms. Other important themes reflect pride
in Mexico’s history: Mexican revolutionary soldiers, famous Mexican
heroes (Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata), and a Mexican Charra (cowgirl)
with sombrero...